ARCADIA RESIDENTIAL + SUPERFRIENDS + FIRE ESCAPE – THE ROSSI BAR, BRIGHTON 12.9.24
We caught wind of the first ever gig being put on by brand new Brighton promoters SideQuest Promotions and thought it proper that we give them our support! So we trundled down to The Rossi Bar on Queens Road in order to catch a trio of local bands who were plying their wares, these being Arcadia Residential , Superfriends and Fire Escape. As far as I can recall, we have only encountered Arcade Residential twice before, and have as yet to review the other two, and so we immediately put that to rights! So without further ado, let’s get on with it…..
First up on the bill are the young Fire Escape outfit who met in 2022 after coming to Brighton to study music at BIMM. They formed the band in the summer of 2023, but completed their lineup consisting of Tyler, Joe, Isaac, Alex and Aster at the start of 2024, and played their first Brighton gig in February. They have been gigging regularly since and have just played their first festival (Maui festival) last month!
Fire Escape took to the compact basement stage at 8pm and entertained the already present 44 (of the 60) punters for the next half hour with a half dozen compositions. I immediately noted the absence of a keyboard as sadly Aster wasn’t with the outfit this evening, but we did have the remaining quartet on the case, and kicked off with the unusually titled ‘ZZZ’. It’s an unusual tune as well, as Tyler commences with a few spoken poem-like lines in a typically British accent and then he adds his, rhythm guitar as well as utilizing a wooden cabasa, which is constructed with loops of steel ball chains wrapped around a wide steel cylinder, which is turned in a circular motion to great effect. The jaunty and disjointed music kicks in and Isaac tickles the bass whilst sporting a comical black t-shirt that reads “I Hate This Band” which brought a smile to my face. Alex is seated to the rear and taps away with his drumsticks and tambourine (when required) as well as alternately sharing lead vocal duties. The remaining band member, Joe, is on lead guitar, but then for their second tune, ‘Backbone’, he switches to clarinet, which isn’t that often used within a traditional band format, and he also offers backing vocals.
It’s during their third tune, ‘Handbag’, that I finally get a sense of who to compare Fire Escape with, as up until now, they have very much been their own band. I hear in Tyler’s vocals a comparison with Muse and adding that to the music we arrive in Theatre Of Hate territory. Keeping it post-punk, ‘Dagwood’ is upon us and I can hear PiL style riffs in Isaac’s bass playing. Then the quartet grind to an immediate stop and we get shared vocals of the first four lines of Irish woman Cecil Frances Alexander’s ‘All Things Bright And Beautiful’ hymn, which I must say was a surprise! The music kicks off again and I can hear nods to The Birthday Party in there!
After their penultimate tune ‘Lighthouse’, they signed off with a loud one in the form of ‘On The Telly’ which is an ode to having to pay for a television licence, and sees Tyler briefly grab the nearby Yamaha keytar and play a few notes. Fire Escape are an interesting band, and one where you’re never quite sure what is going to come next. Our photographer Petra Eujane was mightily impressed with this outfit as were the growing number of punters in the room. I, myself, would like a second listen, but this time with Aster on keys in order to fully appreciate what they are endeavouring to achieve.
Fire Escape:
Tyler – vocals, rhythm guitar, wooden cabasa, keytar
Joe – lead guitar, clarinet, vocals
Isaac – bass
Alex – vocals, drums, tambourine
Aster – synth (not present this evening)
Fire Escape setlist:
‘ZZZ’
‘Backbone’
‘Handbag’
‘Dagwood’
‘Lighthouse’
‘On The Telly’
After a half hour natter break, the live music was back in the room from 9pm to 9:30pm courtesy of another new act for me, Superfriends who are four loveable nerds and best friends from Brighton consisting of Harry, Jake, Mark and Matt. After years of moshing together at DIY gigs, they looked up at the stage and thought “Hey, I bet we could do that!” – and then they did! Starting out with a handful of self produced releases, these were followed up by a pair of singles in 2021, ‘How To Live Life’ and 2022 ‘Blimpy Boy’ and which turned up on episode 7 of Netflix’s animated adult comedy ‘Exploding Kittens’. Last year marked the release of their long awaited second EP, ‘Superfriends Are Online’, produced by Rich Mandell (Fresh, ME REX, Supermilk), and mastered by Tom Woodhead (The Cribs, The Wedding Present, FIDLAR).
Superfriends take to the stage and give us nine of their own compositions, beginning with ‘American Enthusiasm’ which merrily rocked along and one that the late great John Peel, certainly would have approved of. Sadly, Harry’s lead vocals were a tad down in the mix during this opener, but for tune two, the slower post-punk vibed ‘Bayham Abbey’, Fender bassist Jake took the lead vocals for the only time in the set and his vocals were even lower. Meanwhile Mark switched from his Gretsch guitar to Korg keys as he did throughout the set. Their third number was titled ‘Moths’ and frontman Harry took the opportunity to dedicate the tune to their own drummer Matt, who was in fact playing his first ever live gig with the band, mind you, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that if Harry hadn’t flagged it up, as the drumming was spot on! Mark’s keys were appreciated during ‘Moths’ and sounded not unlike the Stranglers when they used them, but overall musically, the track was hovering around the edges of Half Man Half Biscuit territory.
‘Superfriends Are Online’ was the guys next offering and this has a wonderful overall Buzzcocks vibe going on, and with ‘Impostor Syndrome’ you’d swear it was 1978 still. If someone sneaked both these tunes onto a retro 1978 compilation album, then I would believe that they were recorded in that timezone. ‘Impostor Syndrome’ even speeds up as well. Harry then introduced a brand new song titled ‘Bug Bites’, which was written about moving to a new city and not having the time to do things. This too sat firmly within the Buzzcocks camp and I was enjoying myself very much in hearing their tunes. Their seventh selection was another number getting its debut live outing, this being ‘SE23’, which Harry informs us is about family as well as dinosaurs. This had an early Modern Lovers vibe and was another track that speeded up midway through and was greatly received by yours truly. Another foot tapper arrived for their penultimate song, ‘Hibernating’, which again was split into two different speeds, with the latter being (again) the faster.
Before their closing tune, Harry wanted to address the now full capacity crowd and informed us that they are a queer outfit and that he himself was gay, which was met by screams of approval from various punters. Harry then went on to highlight the fact that marginalised groups, including the trans community, need to look after each other. The seal of approval was given throughout the room. Superfriends then signed off with ‘Blimpy Boy’ which was actually written 6 or 7 years ago, but recently picked up and used in the Netflix adult cartoon. I very much enjoyed their set and can’t wait to catch them in action in the near distant future. Their next Brighton gig will be on Thursday 21st November down at Daltons, where they will be sharing the billing with Slash Fiction, The Yacht Club, and Give Up. Purchase your tickets HERE.
Superfriends:
Harry – lead vocals, guitar
Jake – vocals, bass
Mark – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Matt – vocals, drums
Superfriends setlist:
‘American Enthusiasm’
‘Bayham Abbey’
‘Moths’
‘Superfriends Are Online’
‘Impostor Syndrome’
‘Bug Bites’ (first ever live performance)
‘SE23’ (first ever live performance)
‘Hibernating’
‘Blimpy Boy’
After a 31 minute natter break, tonight’s headliners Brighton-based indie soft rock Arcadia Residential took to the stage at 10:01pm and were greeted with big cheers. They began their tenure as a group around three years ago and they consist of twin brothers Oscar and Riley Oliver both on guitar and vocals, their cousin Jamie Whalen on drums and secondary school best friend Jamie Morrison on bass.
Assuming their positions on stage, they introduce us to the first of their eight-song set, entitled ‘Round The Block’ which turns out to be a jangly guitar toe-tapping number. I had previously noted that their tracks on their Bandcamp page are all covers, but as far as I could tell, all of tonight’s tunes are original compositions. Tune two we are informed is their mother’s favourite song of theirs, this being ‘Seatbelt Signs’, and mum who is in attendance thanks the lads. ‘Seatbelt Signs’ complete with matching vocal harmonies, went down well with the punters in the room and is in a similar ballpark to that of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. We are next informed that they are going to try a new one which currently has the working title of ‘Bedroom Window’, and this rocked along nicely. Track four which is listed as “Untitled” was, I felt, different from the quartet’s other material in it being their most progressive and spacious of the entire night. It has a heavy psych vibe with an interesting varied fast and propulsive beat courtesy of the twin Fender guitars and Squier Jazz bass, and was for me the choice track thus far.
‘About You’ came along next and is a more melodic and laid back affair, which grew in stature the longer it went on for, whereas if you blinked during ‘Piracy (It’s A Crime)’ you might have missed it, as it was easily their shortest tune. After this they invited their chum onto the compact stage in order to assist them on tambourine during ‘All The Stress’, I think they said his name was Dexter Clarke. This tune was carrying a more edgy vibe just like The Rolling Stones used to have and there was a decent bass riff going on courtesy of Jamie Morrison. The lads rocked on out and this was my new fave of the set, and I’m certain I wasn’t alone as on conclusion they received a deafening applause, which was loudest on the night by my reckoning.
They signed off with ‘Tandem’ which refers to the tv licence man and this thankfully continued with the sudden increase of energy gained from the previous number. That gritty Rolling Stones sound was still evident and in order to spice the tune up even further, they told us that they had brought some additional percussion instruments and who was willing to have a go and join them on stage. Astonishingly, a further four people managed to virtually cram on the stage, each adding their part with their newly acquired triangle, egg shaker, wooden striker, and wooden baby frog. It was now 10:36pm and Arcadia Residential’s 35 minute set had successfully drawn to a close and let the punters on a high.
Arcadia Residential:
Oscar Oliver – vocals, guitar
Riley Oliver – vocals, guitar
Jamie Whalen – drums
Jamie Morrison – bass
Arcadia Residential setlist:
‘Round The Block’
‘Seatbelt Signs’
‘Bedroom Window’
“Untitled”
‘About You’
‘Piracy (It’s A Crime)’
‘All The Stress’
‘Tandem’
linktr.ee/Arcadia.Residential.Band
It’s worth noting that all three bands individually thanked the other bands on the bill as well as the efforts of the new SideQuest Promotions team that had helped to put the successful night on. They have already organised their next two nights with the third currently being organised. The next SideQuest outing will be on Tuesday 1st October at Daltons and features a quartet of quality local talent in the form of Hypsoline, Winter Gardens, Friend Of Franky, and Ragdoll – Purchase your tickets HERE.
Their third installment will be going down back at The Rossi Bar on Tuesday 29th October and will feature Rugrat, crysometimes, COWZ and a TBC opener. Tickets will go on sale once the final name is confirmed.
Their fourth happening will be back down at Daltons on Tuesday 12th November, where the full lineup is currently TBC.
